Supervisor candidates speak up on Westfall Township

In Westfall Township, four candidates are angling for two open seats on the board of supervisors in the May primary.

BETH BRELJE

In Westfall Township, four candidates are angling for two open seats on the board of supervisors in the May primary.

Both Robert Ewbank and Paul Fischer will vacate their seats and are not running in this election. That leaves a field of mostly fresh faces. Candidate Lester Buchanan has served as supervisor in the past.

New supervisors will have to deal with old financial problems brought on by lawsuits.

The township is in court, fighting local canoe liveries for the right to tax their businesses.

Westfall owes $703,000 for a settlement to former police officer Robert Dombrosky.

And taxpayers are still paying off a $6 million settlement from a discrimination case brought by developers David H. and Barbara D. Katz.

Here are the four candidates for Westfall township supervisor.

Lester James Buchanan

Age: 66

Political party: Republican

Education: High school grad

Work: Retired. Former Westfall street department worker

Prior experience in elected office: Westfall supervisor 2003-10; was on Westfall Police and Eastern Pike Regional Police Department police commissions, totaling four years

Community activities/involvement: Member of American Legion and Vietnam Veterans of America

Why are you running: I don't like the direction the township is going. Especially with the opposition to the police department. I'm very pro-police.

Tax money has to be raised some way to keep the same level of service, unless people want to cut services. We can't maintain current services on an old budget when costs keep going up.

Everybody is saying we've got to keep taxes down. You can't keep taxes down and keep maintaining services. The money has to come from somewhere. That's not going to bode well for me, but that is the way I feel.

William Jamros

Age: 56

Political party: Democrat

Education: Graduated from Lincoln Technical Institute in New Jersey, studied heating, ventilation and air conditioning

Work: 36 years experience heating, ventilation and air conditioning

Prior experience in elected office: None

Community activities/involvement: Former member of Mill Rift Fire Department

Why are you running: I've been living in Westfall for 22 years and I've seen some not-too-nice things happen to the township as far as lawsuits. I believe people in the past were supervisors for their own personal interests. I feel it is necessary to run, because it is the place I want to retire. I want to keep taxes as low as possible so people who live here can.

My main thing is to make sure the township doesn't get involved in any legal battles from now until the end of time. Some stupid decisions made in this township in the past.

Jerry Dotey

Age: 69

Political party: Republican

Education: College graduate

Work: Retired. Army career, Vietnam army veteran and later worked as a contract communication consultant for the Department of Defense

Prior experience in elected office: None

Community activities/involvement: Member of private veterans social club; volunteer to counsel returning veterans from Iraq and Afghanistan

Why are you running: Some decisions that have been made, like bringing business in, have been good to a point. But bringing them in, giving them tax breaks and then having no money when we get sued — we need thought for how to run the township.

If you are going to bring a business into the community, it should be a good business that produces something in your community and brings jobs and tax income into the community. Not ones that suck all the energy out of a community and you are left with nothing.

We need to make things more comfortable for our elderly citizens.

There could be some manufacturing in Westfall, so we would have a place for kids who don't want to go to college to get a job.

Robert Bostinto

Age: 58

Political party: Republican

Education: Some college

Work: AT&T sales account manager

Prior experience in elected office: None

Community activities/involvement: Member of the Pike County Economic Development Authority board, volunteer at Ecumenical Food Pantry in Milford

Why are you running: Westfall is a distressed municipality. We've got to find creative ways to create revenue and increase employment in the township.

I'd like to leverage some of our assets, like our close proximity to Interstate 84 and commercial and residential properties, to create jobs and more tax income.

I am deeply concerned about the quality of life in Westfall.

Crime is on the upswing. I think it is a reflection of economic times.

I support keeping the police force intact and perhaps expanding it with more officers. I'm not sure we have adequate police coverage.

Police and firefighters provide essential services no matter where you live.

Never miss a story

Choose the plan that's right for you.
Digital access or digital and print delivery.